Netflix In Talks To Renew Arrested Development For Fifth Season

Netflix is considering the renewal as part of its strategy to move into production of original programming.

The fourth season of Arrested Development was such a huge success that Netflix is reportedly in talks for another one. Brian Grazer, co-chair of the production company, Imagine Entertainment, said at the Allen & Co. Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. Speaking to Bloomberg Television, Grazer explained: “We are in conversations with them to do another. They are interested in doing that.”

The show’s fourth season of the show was part of a large-scale experiment for Netflix, the first phase of the company’s transition from a pure rental service into a producer of online content. Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings has called “Arrested Development” and other “Netflix originals” integral to his strategy of transforming the company from a purveyor of rerun programming into a Web-based television network offering a mix of Hollywood movies and new shows, comparable to Time Warner Inc.’s HBO.

Netflix is reportedly "in talks" for a renewal.

Apparently, despite season four’s less than stellar reviews, the experiment is still considered a success by Netflix. The service is yet to reveal any exact viewing figures for Arrested Development and, during the week of the show’s release, Forbes reported that Netflix stock had taken a tumble, because of the show’s negative critical reception. Still, it appears that productions like Arrested Development and the Netflix original House of Cards, which debuted to better reviews overall, are the way of the future for the online streaming service.

The service kicked off its first wave of original programming with the Bluth family.